Ravichandran Ashwin’s incredible 2016 that has seen him top the wicket-taking charts just got a lot better as the selectors lead by MSK Prasad have reportedly chosen the off-spinner as India’s new vice-captain in Tests. The official announcement is likely to be made shortly by the BCCI.
One of the reasons why Virat Kohli has managed to go on a 16-game unbeaten run in Tests has been the form of all-rounder, Ashwin, who has contributed not just with the ball with heaps of wickets but also with crucial partnerships and even centuries with the bat.
Extra Cover: Stats: Most wickets in international cricket across all formats in 2016
And it looks as though that contribution has not gone unnoticed as Ashwin, who some thought should have been in the frame for captaincy in the longest format of the game following MS Dhoni’s retirement has now been given the vice-captaincy.
The 30-year-old has been in incredible form in 2016, where he has not only taken 90 wickets across all formats but also become the fastest Asian player to reach 200 Test wickets and is hunting down the record for the fastest to 250 Test scalps and just overtook Javagal Srinath’s tally of 236 as is currently in seventh place on the list of India’s all-time leading Test wicket-takers.
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What this means to Ajinkya Rahane, who has been ruled out of the ongoing Test series and possibly even the ODI and T20I series after a blow on the right index finger and was the previous deputy to Virat Kohli in the longest format of the game remains to be seen.
Whether the decision to promote Ravichandran Ashwin to vice captaincy is a temporary solution that the selectors MSK Prasad, Jatin Paranjape, Gagan Khoda, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh have gone for, or whether it is the way that they see the team going in the future as well will be interesting to find out.
For now though, the news of Ashwin being handed the vice-captaincy in Tests, which was unanimously voted for by the selection committee, has been passed on to the BCCI, who are likely to make the announcement officially declaring Ashwin as Virat Kohli’s deputy should be made anytime soon.
The news of this extra responsibility has come at the perfect time for Ashwin, who currently has 90 wickets in international cricket in 2016, and will not only be relishing the prospect of bowling on a crumbling day four wicket at the Wankhede in the fourth Test but also get the honour of captaining India in Kohli’s absence anytime during the fifth Test, which will take place in his home ground, Chennai.
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